Canal and lake that is one source area for flooding onto campus
The vision for this case study is a water sensitive Can Tho University campus that is well-connected to wider infrastructure development in the city and an example of an incubator of innovation.
Can Tho is Viet Nam’s fourth largest city, and the largest city in the Mekong Delta. It is also home to Can Tho University (CTU), one of the leading universities in the Mekong Delta. The city has been susceptible to flooding from Mekong fluvial overflow, high tides and extreme rainfall events, but recent dyke construction forming a polder in the city downtown has changed the city’s flood resilience. However, the university sits at a low point within this polder, and remains vulnerable to pluvial flooding and overflows from canals during peak flows and storms.
The 87-ha university Campus II has been renovated several times and currently has many modern buildings and facilities. It is also one of few large green and open spaces in the city centre. CTU has a master plan to transform its main campus into a green and sustainable university space, supporting CTU to be a strategic university on agriculture and scientific leadership .The master plan for CTU Campus II could incorporate nature-based solutions (NbS) to solve the campus's flooding and environmental issues while providing added amenities for students and staff.
RUCaS and CTU are collaborating to explore an NbS overlay for the master plan to create a multifunctional, sustainable space that benefits both the environment and the university community.
This case study focuses on one site within the wider campus, proposing the construction of the Can Tho University Park, transforming existing open space and a lake into a water sensitive park that includes a terraced garden, a food forest park, a communal outdoor kitchen powered by biogas and using universal design, and a worm farm for composting kitchen waste. Vegetated swales will channel floodwaters to a swamp forest wetland, enhancing the park's floodable area and ecological diversity, while recirculating water through these wetlands to prevent stagnation and improve water quality. This approach addresses urban heat, flooding and water pollution, while incorporating circular economy and accessible design principles.
Can Tho University overall strategy
What does a Water Sensitive City look like?
The CRCWSC has produced research, guidelines and
tools related to the following topics:
Integrated Urban Flood
Management
Climate change
mitigation
Community
engagement
Economics and
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